Are you proposing...

a new cold war? I grew up under the shadow of Russias nukes. When I was a kid there was such a fatalistic atmosphere in the country. It was reflected in the entertainment of the time. RED DAWN,THE DAY AFTER,MAD MAX MOVIES,WAR GAMES,etc. Nuclear war was an inevitable happening. It was just a question of when. When we spoke of our future, it was always in the back of our minds even if we didn't admit it.

Living in the shadow of Damocles atomic sword, we waited and watched the news. They called it mutually assured destruction. To quote the movie WAR GAMES, the only way to win is not to play. There was an uneasy peace but at a stressfull paranoid cost. Those were different times. The musician,Sting sang a song about hoping the Russians love their children too. They did. UNfortunately, there are societies in existence today that would prefer to strap a bomb to their children and send them into a crowd. Back then it was understood by both sides. If one side pulled the nuclear trigger, no one won. Relief came years later with words spoken by one of this centurys greatest presidents, "Mr.Gorbachev. Tear down this WALL!"

I don't think the doctrine of mutually assured destruction would work today because of all the nihilistic thinking going on out there. I vote to keep the bombs out of the hands of the fanatics. And yes, I am all for keeping an eye on our own leaders.

I agree with all of the above.

I remember bomb shelters and air raids. To think we actually believed that hiding under our desks would save us if a nuclear bomb hit the neighborhood. Perhaps that's what they wanted us to believe, and we did. Now, of course, it's impossible to ignore the devastating effects of radiation in any form. Yet, here we are watching everything unfold like some surrealistic dream/nightmare. N. Korea launches missiles on our Independence Day. Phew! Thank god the long-range tanked. Was that on purpose? He's not as insane as we think. Or was it just like our missiles...some hit and some miss/fire. India has nukes. Pakistan and India have longstanding feuds. China and Russia, heavens above, are now contemplating the previously unthinkable - an alliance. Imagine if they teamed up with, say, N. Korea? Or Iraq? Or any number of previously impossible coalitions. We've pissed off quite a few countries these past few years, and some I'm sure have even longer memories and are using our own technology we gave them. One point that struck me when I read the premise...why do we think we have the right to tell any country what they can or cannot do? Just a thinking point...not meant to cause controversy. I'm a theorist.

PERSONALLY

I think we have the right idea today. I mean, our goal now is to limit the spread of this technology. If we let it spread, even if we work toward a unified state with common goals, there is always going to be one who wants to use it to impower himself. And if there are numerous facilities with this technology across the globe, it'll be that much harder to track it's movement. Right now a select few have this tech, so now it's easier to watch each one and make sure non of it moves(and we're having a hard time with that).

Nuclear technology is too dangerous. It takes one person to push one button...or sabatage one plant, to cause a cataclismic event.